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Judge Cannon Blocks DOJ from Sharing Trump's Documents Report, Accuses Jack Smith of Jeopardizing Fair Trials

Jan 21, 2025, 03:44 PM

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has blocked the Department of Justice from sharing with select members of Congress a sealed volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. In her ruling, Judge Cannon denied the DOJ's motion to release the second volume of Smith's report, stating that 'Congress hasn't asked for it and it's not clear they need it.' She further criticized Smith, accusing him of attempting to deny a fair trial to Trump's co-defendants by seeking to release the report prematurely. She stated there was no justification to disclose the report prior to the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against the co-defendants. The report details the investigation into allegations that Trump unlawfully retained classified documents.